Today in History (1862) - The U.S. government forbids all Union army officers from returning fugitive slaves, thus effectively annulling the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 and setting the stage for the Emancipation Proclamation. On the same day in 1865, the Confederate Congress voted to enlist 300,000 black troops, granting them freedom with the consent of their owners. Lee surrendered a few weeks later.

Although I'll admit that at first glance, the thought that went through my head was "what was that mother thinking!", upon further reflection, it seems that she does have a point. There's nothing inherently wrong with nudity, afterall--if the family went to a nudist colony to celebrate the kid's 16th birthday party, it seems clear that it would be under the parents' discretion. Why shouldn't a parent be able to make a choice over whether or not to hire a stripper for their kid?

On the other hand, while I might, might, be able to see the mother's point when she says "[w]ho are they to tell me what I can and can't show to my own children?", I think any such argument falls apart when one takes into account the presence of the minors at the party who were not related to the family (unless the minors' parents knew about the stripper and approved of their kid going, at least).

I blogged about this a week or so ago. My only problem with it is this:

About 10 people under the age of 18 were at the birthday party in September, including minors who were not related to the family, authorities said.

While it's unclear if the parents of the other kids were informed that there would be a stripper, I'd say it's likely that they weren't. If that's the case, then this mom overstepped in her actions. It's one thing to decide what's appropriate for your own child. It's entirely something else to decide what's appropriate for someone else's kids.

If the parents of the other kids were not informed, and thus didn't have an opportunity to decide not to let their kids be exposed to the stripper, then there ought to be some sort of consequences. What those should be, I'm not sure. I reasonable fine, I think, might be enough.